New: Victor Bologan’s Chess Academy - Vol. 1 & 2

10/13/2024 – Discover chess mastery with grandmaster Victor Bologan’s “Practical Endgames” and “Dynamic Play” courses. Learn crucial endgame strategies and aggressive tactics, suitable for all skill levels. Elevate your game with interactive lessons, real-world examples, and expert insights from the Bologan Chess Academy Series.

"You have to know fortresses, just like openings"

9/23/2024 – If you don't know your opening variations inside out, you can be shipwrecked right from the start. If you don't know how to build a fortress, you will end up resigning some of your games without needing to. In the last issue of ChessBase Magazine, Dorian Rogozenco started his series “The fortress”, which will gradually develop into a systematic collection of classical fortresses. In the new issue CBM #221, he presents two related motifs from the endgame bishop+pawn vs. pawn. The former coach of the German national team starts by explaining the motifs in the video. This is followed by no less than five interactive videos in which you can playfully put your building skills to the test. Take a look at the CBM reading sample of the week!

60m English Anti-Bayonet

King’s Indian fans who choose the Mar del Plata attack (7...Nc6) against White’s classical system (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0) usually aim for a complex position with mutual attacks on open wings, requiring long-term strategic planning and tactical sharpness in critical moments. Computers often do not know how to handle the arising complex strategic positions, which suits players who like to think on their own instead of memorizing long variations. However, the fashionable Bayonet Attack (9.b4) interferes with Black’s ideas. After Black’s main move 9...Nh5 the positions opens, the lines get forced and computer analysis is important again. But this DVD offers an antidote against White’s Bayonet Attack, namely 9...a5! This move leads to sound positions with very few concrete lines, in which the focus is on strategy not on tactics. Objectively chances are equal but if Black knows what to do things might quickly become dangerous for White.